SHILLONG: Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons has announced over Rs 70 crore to develop religious sites in Meghalaya aimed at promoting spiritual tourism.
The central initiative is under Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
Alphons told media persons on Saturday that for the development of spiritual circuit to promote religious tourism, the areas which will be covered are Khasi Hills, Jowai, Ri Bhoi, West Jaintia Hills, East Jaintia Hills, West Garo Hills, Balupara and Mairang.
He said the Centre is providing Rs 5,648 crore for several projects for the promotion of religious tourism all over the country.
In Meghalaya, the Centre will take up 48 projects worth Rs 70.32 crore.
The important projects are aimed at giving facelift to cathedrals and Catholic, Presbyterian and Baptist churches in Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi and Garo Hills, renovation of temples, including Nartiang Durga temple, and monoliths, Laban glass mosque and Gurudwara, among others.
While small projects will be completed in six months, the deadline for the completion of bigger projects is 18 months.
State fails to attend meeting
The minister said a meeting was convened recently to discuss the project in Delhi but no officer from the state government attended it.
He alleged that probably the chief minister may have asked the officers not to attend the meeting.
“Though the state government was not proactive, we will go ahead with the project,” he said.
The minister wanted to know why the state government is against the Centre for implementation of such an important project.
“Is it that the state cannot eat up the money that it does not want to participate in the central project or is it that the state government wants to be always anti-BJP,” the minister questioned.
Alphons, however, hoped that the state will support the project. “We want the state government to be on board,” he added.
Denies election motive
To a question, the minister, who is also in charge of Meghalaya elections, said the announcement had nothing to do with the upcoming elections.
“Time has come to carry out various initiatives for Meghalaya as the state government had failed in many aspects in the last 45 years,” Alphons said.
